Collecting In the Huachucas

Doug Yanega dyanega at pop.ucr.edu
Wed Jul 26 12:11:57 EDT 2000


Ken Philip wrote:

>> ...the Coronado National Memorial is basically a parking lot, a plaque,
>> and an outhouse, covering a few acres, tops...
>
>According to _The National Parks: Index 1993_, the Coronado National Memor-
>ial contains 4,750.22 acres.

That certainly is nowhere evident either driving through it, nor on the
DeLorme topo maps of Arizona, which routinely show National Park
boundaries. In the case of the CNM, all that is shown is a tiny symbol
centered on Montezuma Pass. The only possible indication of the Memorial's
boundaries, in retrospect, are signs on either side of the pass which said
"No hunting next 5.5 miles". The signs mention nothing else.

>Anyone collecting today has to know where all the
>restricted lands are (National, State, Indian Tribal, etc.) in the
>region of interest. Many of these are not posted along the highways,
>so it's your responsibility to know where you are with respect to these
>lands.

And John Grehan later added:

> The converse
>could also be argued, that authorities have the responsibility of posting
>areas properly and making the laws accessible.

THIS is important - without posting something at least indicating
jurisdiction of the area, it's nothing more than a proverbial speed trap
for biologists. Look at it this way: you're driving along a road for miles
and miles, in the Coronado National Forest, and everywhere you look around
you is Forest Service land, completely legal for recreational collecting.
You come to a parking lot with an outhouse and a plaque. Is your FIRST
assumption going to be that you are no longer on Forest Service land?? Is
there something magical about roadside plaques that make it obvious to
people that THOSE are Parks Service property, and *not* Forest Service
property, without some sort of posted indication to that effect?

It was a simple, honest mistake, and the Ranger refused to accept it as
such. Issuing citations to first-time offenders violating unposted rules is
NOT playing fair. My cynical side could go so far as to believe this is
intentional on *their* part, used to generate extra revenue *exactly* like
a speed trap - a practice which would stop if they ever DID decide to put
up a sign to warn people (a sign which, ironically, would probably cost
less than a single fine).

Peace,


Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
           http://insects.ucr.edu/staff/yanega.html
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82



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